Dear Qorax,
We are family of 3, we both and our son (6 years). Neither we have anyone known at Canada nor arranged employment.
With little bit of search found that 1BR fully furnished basement apartment could be the best bet for us initially on a monthly rental.
We are looking in western region in Etobicoke and Mississauga close to TTC or subway.
We have following queries, kindly advice
1- Should we straight opt for an apartment or look for a hotel for a week and later move to apartment? Considering weekly rentals would be somewhere $400-$500 (assume)
2- Will we be able to rent a place from Dubai? Will landlord agree if we interact over email/telephone etc?
3- We don't have employment, or references; will it be a hurdle for us in getting a place for us?
4- Are monthly rentals acceptable to Landlords? i.e. no yearly contract.
5- Will it be possible for us to transfer our son's school if we plan to relocate in next few months after landing?
We have been searching online on viewit.ca/kijiji.ca/toronto.rentershotline.ca/craigslist.ca/nowtoronto.com/capreit.net and realstar.ca. Please also suggest what else we can explore prior to finalizing on to one or two choice?
Please accept apology for such a long query.
Regards
Hi,
1. Getting into a short-term accom initially and then locating a perm. rental is the wisest thing to do. There r many things to check before u commit, the quality of the neighborhood, accessibility to conveyance & amenities, family friendliness etc. I'd advice everyone to at least get a 2-3 weeks
g/house or
motel accom. before landing, settle down a bit, do some physical ground work and only then take a long-term rental... whether it's a basement, townhouse, condo apt or home.
2. Difficult, but not impossible. Few could get to that. Eg.
Indiraprab fetched her basement apt here (in Malton-Mississauga) from her homeland before she took the flight. However, 2 things could go wrong there,
1.the location & quality of the dwelling could be a mismatch from what had been advertised,
2.u might pay up a higher price.
3. Not at all. Except few landlords most understand the predicament of newcomers (they themselves were one day) and let u into a lease w/out much ado. Some may request a
referral (any friend/relative or existing forumer could do that... If u r around my locale - u could use mine) or a copy of ur
Cr. Card (overseas one works fine too).
4. Yes. But only/mostly in
basement rentals. The landlord might want 2-months rent in adv. though, usually first & last, thus technically u have paid only 1-month's adv.
5. Anyday / anytime. However, for consistency & ease of the
kid's settlement it's wise not to move his/her school mid-term. Which is why I advise everyone (also) to fetch a motel type accom in the first place and then move into a long-term rental.
I dread to see children in trouble... Immigration itself has posed a challenge to them, then after joining a school - within a short while if the parents change their school again - it does affect them. They may not understand or whim, but we do, don't we?
For the g/house or motels pls read my posts on short-term accom. For longer rentals I've written exhaustively manywhere - the local bulletin boards (found in all malls & many convenience stores) r ur best guide. Kijiji type sites r useful only if u r aware of the neighborhoods.Hope that helped.
Qorax 
Immigration Forum
